The Years After
by Brimseye
Summary: Riddick decides he's done running. He's found a place where he might be able to finally be left alone. Or not. See what happens in this story set after TCoR. Rewrote chapter 3 completely. enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

_The large man sitting on the steps of this skiff looked so sad. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him. Though, on the other hand she didn't feel very sorry for him. He was too powerful looking to feel sorry for, but he looked hurt. A hurt no time could erase. A hurt she herself felt she knew something of. One she hid away, like she hid herself away from people. She didn't normally interact with humans, but today, looking at the man, she was almost tempted to abandon her creed. As much as she needed help sometimes she could never bring herself to trust anyone or perhaps it was she wouldn't trust herself with anyone. Curious. That thought aside...perhaps a compromise._

_She would call it her good deed of the century. She chuckled nervously to herself. She was about to do something very stupid. She gently removed the most beautiful and best tempered pup from her large pocket. She silently held the protesting white scaled thing in both outstretched palms and advanced slowly. Enough time for him to let her know if she was out of line. He didn't react. He sat with such a stillness she wondered if he was asleep or even dead. She was so close if she reached as far as she possibly could she would be able to deposit the Hellhound on his knee._

_There._

_She withdrew, heart pounding from the close proximity of another human. The man tilted his dark lensed goggled head to look at the clinging pup for a moment. Then his gaze returned to look in her direction. She backed away to the walkway slowly. Then turned and walked on. Out at the distant town limit she let the other two pups out of her pockets to ride on her shoulders deep in thought._

**He felt someone's stare on him. He opened his eyes to check without moving. He spotted a small person in a deep hooded cloak. It would have been too dark in the shadow of her hood to see features, for the average man. As it happened to be, he wasn't average. He could see even from this distance, ruined flesh. The small being stared at him unmoving on a walkway full of people. It slowly reached into its billowing cloak. He tensed ready to spring away in a second. It brought out something, alive, small and white. He stayed where he was, watching the animals familiar lines trying to remember where he had seen such a creature. On both small palms of decidedly feminine hands it laid, shivering, looking pitiful but at the same time mewling with surprisingly strong cries of protest.**

**She advanced slowly. Not sure about him. Just about the time he was going to tell her to get lost, she looked doubtful. That small piece of humanity stung him. His chest flared in pain. She wasn't just another piece of anonymous flesh. Maybe she felt, for a long time he had forgotten others might sometimes feel. He doubted how deep her feeling's went as the familiar pain washed over him. A consuming wave of torture, Jack.... Movement snapped him back to the present.**

**She was a small thing, too skittish to be a normal human. Something was wrong with her. At arm's length and stretching for all she was worth she gently laid the Hellhound on one of his knees. Her scared fingers lingering longingly on the pup's back protectively. Then she retreated quickly keeping her eyes fixed on him at all times. The Hellhound was pure white. Beautiful and rare. Most were only a dull brown. She backed all the way to the walkway and melted into the crowd. He continued scanning the walkway while the pup clawed his way up to his shoulder and curled up against his neck rumbling small sounds of disgruntlement. He raised his hand to gently rub it's scales. The pup instantly moved to get the full effect of his hand on his hide and began to purr a snuffling growling of contentment.**

**What am I going to call it? He wondered.**


	2. Chapter 2

I edited this chapter a little. No more West. He was an unnecessary story element..:] Enjoy

_She whistled a sharp clear note as she got close to her place. A huge white hellhound, almost blinding in the sharp sunlight bounded towards her. Scales rippling as fluidly as her graceful movements. She was the mother hellhound. Her name was Ivory. The most rare and sought after hellhound for breeders, since the death of her gray mother Iron. Another Hound raced after Ivory. Her protective mate. He was the void, as black as she was white. Jet. The girl's favorite guard. If he could teach little Raven and Smoke on her shoulders just half of his wiles they would be great successors when Jet's retirement years came along._

_"I'm home" She greeted the hounds with big hugs. They they growled and grumbled their pleasure of having her and their pups home._

_"I found a home for the white male." She told Ivory and Jet. They seemed to look at her doubtfully._

_"Don't worry, he will be a good companion to your pup. I'm sure of it." She told them easily, while secretly hoping the dark man wouldn't make her inadvertently a liar._

**That night he lifted off from the small port in search of land to purchase. He was looking for a place he wouldn't have to register his skiff while still maintaining some legality should someone get a little curious. Somewhere where no one would bother him or expect to find him. He found a place not far from the first port offering a large amount of land. Couple hundred miles in a forested land. When he landed in a nearby town and inquired, locals called it hellhound country. By bringing the pup with him the Mayor, a man called Serber, put together his own theory's as to why a stranger wanted such a large amount of land. Not to mention hellhound land. He was convinced Riddick was a hellhound breeder and needed space for his hounds to roam freely. The man asked a lot of questions about the pup. Riddick told the admiring man he'd acquired the hound from their local breeder just yesterday. The Mayor immediately started talking prices, discounted of course, for a client of the local breeder. Riddick's obvious connection to the breeder elevated his significance enough to let him buy all the hellhound land available.**

**Later Riddick stopped by the pub. When the locals spotted his hound worrying at a large bone kindly gifted to the pup from the bartender, stories started flying in all directions as locals offered to buy him rounds. The locals called the breeder the Hound Charmer. They said those who knew her better called her Charmer or Charm for short. According to an admiring woman Charmer had a way about her the Hounds loved, but she was reclusive and hard to find. Harder to get to with all her hounds guarding her lands. A few others said she was a hound herself and if you were near her lands you could see her leading her pack on full mooned nights.**

**As Riddick took his leave he pondered all he had heard. He liked the story of Charm being a hellhound herself. If he wanted to stay un-found maybe he'd make a different name for himself here. Something like the girl had. He landed the skiff under the thick canopy of the forest near fresh water. He let the pup out to play in the thick undergrowth and his chest stopped throbbing so hard. Jack... He conscientiously fingered a small wickedly curved razor blade strung around his neck on a thick leather cord. He decided he would like to live here until he died or was found, which ever came first.**

_Early the next month Charm got a message on the rarely used communicator. She was needed. A wild hellhound had found its way into a small town and was feasting on the farmer's animals. She called for Jet and gently clipped a delicate chain collar around his neck. He happily switched into professional mode, staying by her side, and growling quietly at the pup's when they came too close to his human. She grabbed her specially made half mask along with her hooded cloak when she went on jobs. If her hood fell off her ruined face was still was covered by the mask. Charm took the rairly used transport out of a barn and dusted it off. Jet took up the entire back seat of the skimmer, grinning at her astonished remarks that he had grown again. _

_When they got into the deserted town an hour latter at speeds close to two hundred miles per hour, Charm could see the path the hound had taken easily. She jumped down and gestured for Jet to follow. She carried a simple dart gun at her hip and a long thick blade strapped to her thigh. They tracked the creature counting the victims by the piles of bones left where the beast had fed on them. The count, when they finally found the dosing hound was, two dogs, ten chickens and two calf's. Fortunately no humans were hurt do to early warning of the town's watchman. She shot the hound full of sedative darts then loaded the limp body of the hound onto Jet's back. They left the town square to cheers of the emerging town's folk._

_They had good timing to catch the hound asleep and gorged. Jet was only needed for the heard labor today. At the towns limits she was flagged down by the towns watchman. Jet sat up interestedly staring at his colorful cloths. The watchman's eyes got huge and he broke out in a cold sweat. Jet growled questioningly at Charm. She grinned and signaled the hound he could not attack and to lay back down. Jet lowered his massive body down with a martyred huff. The watchman stepped forward hesitantly._

_"Hello their Miss Charm, Jet." He greeted nervously. Charm nodded her head. Jet yawned showing all of his razor like teeth._

_"A.a.a.a man j.j. bought the hound lands y. might want to have a t.t. with him before you dump this guy off, h. might not like a hound dumped in his back yard." The man advised stuttering in fear badly. Jet growled at the man loudly. The watchman stepped back quickly._

_Charm nodded and took off towards the woods to find the new land holder._


	3. Chapter 3

**Bones stopped digging after some small rodent he had been after to look to the north, his large ears swiveling to catch sounds not yet audible to the human ear. He ran quickly to Riddick's feet and clawed his way up to his masters shoulder. The hellhound perched awkwardly, turning pink with agitation and rattling his scales in warning. He half growled half hissed. Riddick tensed, double checking to make shure he had his twin blades straped to his back. The pup had grown, was as big as a meddium sized dog and getting heavier by the day. Riddick pulled the young hound from his shoulder. He set the pup between his feet, massaging the base of the pup's ears to calm him. **

**"Shh." He held his finger to his mouth and quietly said. The pup's intelegant eyes understood his motion and word. Bones stopped growling but kept his pink coloring and his scales raised in alarm, and watching the forest in the direction of the offencive noise.**

**Riddick rubbed his shoulder where Bone's claws had punctured. He'd have to teach Bones he couldn't come climb him like a tree every time he smelled or heard something new, he was already getting too big for that. Riddick continued mending the barbed wire fence he had been working on, staying mostly hidden behind some trees, just in case. Alert to any sound or movement around him. The fence he was working on had been made to supposedly keep the larger herbivors out of his newly growing garden, but the tough hided pup had stumbled through it while he was playing and dragged a four foot section with him with out ever slowing down. Didn't even faze the hound.**

**Moments later Bones growled softly and looked up at him pointedly. Riddick then he heard a soft wine of an engin. Thirty seconds later a skimmer came into view and hummed to a stop before his skiff/house. A small human sat in the front seat and two huge hounds in the back one jet black and one a dusty brown color, looked to be drugged. The driver got out and looked around zeroing in on him quickly. She held up a hand in greeting, unsure about another human. Riddick's heart thumped painfuly in his chest, acking. Jack... Then recognised the ruined flesh of the Charmer's hands and at the edges of her mask. Her sad eyes changed to suprise, as she recognised him and the pup at his feet.**

**"Hello" She called almost too quietly for him to hear, still very skittish. In the back of the skimmer the black hellhound sat up and stared at him grumbling loudly. The hound wore a thin chain around it's neck. Purely decorative. Riddick finished with the fence and slowly walked closer to the skimmer. Bones followed eagerly, fading back to white. The black hound jumped down from the back of the skimmer and advanced purposefully towards Riddick and Bones. Riddick watched the beast tensely. Bones fearlessly trotted out to meet the huge hound, Riddick followed ready to interfear if the adult beast acted hostily.**

**"Jet." Charm said as a command. The timidness in her voice gone at that moment. The hound stopped and waited. Difering to her obediantly. The girl came forward haltingly keeping an eye on Riddick warily, she stopped besides the black hound. She rested her hand on him in a silent command. The hound relaxed slightly, sitting next to her head reaching her chest level easily. He grumbled something loudly making the girl snort quitetly. Bones sat at his feet just like he taught him to. Bones purred knowing he was doing well.**

**"What have you named him?" She soothed quietly, as if ****he**** were the beast and she didn't want to startle him. Her eyes darted between watching the pup, measuring his growth and watching him for any hostile movements. Almost like she was on some other animals territory and she was an unsure visitor.**

**"Bones" He told her. He thought she smiled under her mask. Slowly she knelt holding her hand to Bones, completly dwarfed by Jet. Bones bolted for her bounding like a puppy. she opened her arms for him just before he crashed into at full force almost knocking her back. The pup playfuly nipped and licked at her as she pet him..welcoming back a pack member. She looked over at Jet her black hound. He still stood as still as a statue except for his quiverivering muscles. His eyes only on the pup.**

**"I am Charm." She stated and stood, looking above or below his dark goggles but never directly at them.**

**"This is Jet, he is Bones' father." She gestured to Jet at her side. The hound still held his ground not moving even as the pup circled him and sniffed.**

**"Jet will not harm you as long as you show no fear and dont touch me." She told him. Watching for a reaction from him.**

**Interesting. Riddick nodded his understanding. Charm touched Jets shoulder lightly and he imediatly began smelling his son all over. Bones growled at Jet as fiercely as a puppy could. With a huge paw Jet held the pup down, plopped on his side next to him and began cleaning Bone's coat of scales with his sandpaper tongue. Bones wiggled from under his father's huge paw then tried to jump on Jet's face. Jet just grinned happily, snapping at the pups feet always just a fraction too fast for the pup to dodge.**

**"I apologise for invading your land." The Charmer said and bowed an extremly formal bow. **

**"I come only to find out if you would be willing to shelter the wild hellhounds I have to remove from the towns nearby. Its very rare that a hellhound actualy bothers the towns here enough to need an intervention. Maybe every six months or so."**

**"need to get this wild hound away from people before he wakes up." Charm turned twoards the back of the skimmer.**

**" I ask your permission as the new owner of the only hellhound reserve within a two hundred mile radius if Ican drop this hound off on your southern border." The girl explained quickly. Already Riddick could see the sleeping beast's muscles twitching. He nodded his permission. Wouldnt hurt his defences to have a few more hounds on his land. The Charmer bowed a deep formal thanks.**

**"May I also leave Jet here while I go? I would like them to have some time together. Not only are Hellhounds taught their hunting and stalking skills from their parents, but Bones has had no training."**

**She soothed quietly, again seeming as if she was trying to appease his bestial nature. As if she saw him as a hound himself. Riddick nodded again. She clearly thought this training was important.**

**The girl whistled a quick note. Jet came to her at once. Ignoring the pup trying to nip at his feet. Charm took the delicate collar from the hounds neck and wrapped it around her fist. The hound sat attentively at her feet, puzzled. He followed her back to the skimmer trying to lick her hand in question. **

**"Go on Jet, go play." She commanded and waved her arm dismissively. Jet instantly bounded back to Riddick leaning against his hip comfortably and when the pup caught up with him he bowled him over and dashed off around the skiff Riddick had set up as a home. Bones gave chase snarling savagely. **

**With a quick nod The Charmer skimmed off into the forest.**

_So the huge, sad man had found a home, and had kept Bones as a companion. For that she was glad. He seemed to be less pained than the first time she saw him if that made any sence at all. She shook her head. Today was just too strange for her. She felt like her heart was going to give out from all the people contact. That man was a pleasant if scary suprise. The man seemed wary of Jet but only being careful as one would approch a strange dog. It almost seemed as if he had seen a grown hound before. Very unusual and Jet, the jerk, accepting the man into her pack with hardly a sniff and a backwards glance. As if she would invite him. That man didn't need a pack to protect him. Intense man. Cold and distant but for some reason let me release the hound on his land. Almost no time left. Charm looked over her shoulder and checked on the hound. He still had his eyes closed but he was twitching a lot now._

_A few minutes later she reached the southern border. She stopped the skimmer and as gently as she could, moved the hound off the back. It took consiterable effort and soon she was drenched in sweat. He weighed lest than Jet which was a blessing. Then he began waking up. She crouched on the ground next to him rumbling loving nothing to him. He sat up, looked at her and lost his balance as he growled a warning at her._

_"Shh be calm now" Charm whispered to the beast. The hounds growling quieted and it laid back down to keep his balance._

_"That's a good boy." Charm said in a soothing tone. She touched its head gently growling deeply making him feel protected, by keeping guard over him. He rolled over on his side still half asleep with the sedative. Charm walked back to the skimmer and climbed in. Soon the hound shook off the last of the seditive and stood, shook himself and trotted off twoards a near by stream. She started back to the man's skiff/house._

_Back at the large man's place Jet ran to her and playfully tugged on her hand growling savage growls. She grinned and rubbed his head and ears tenderly. Bones watched for a second, then gently mouthing her ankle began savagely growling and slobbering on her. Charm laughed quietly and masaged Bone's ears as well._

_The large man watched from the shadow of his doorway leaning naturaly and seeming totaly at ease. The skiff seemed like a small but cozy home. Jet barked at Bones then trotted to the large man. Bones followed watching curiously. Jet thumped his tail against the large man's legs as he circled a round the man wanting to be pet. The man slapped Jet's side obligingly. Jet caught the man's hand in his mouth and growling a little more savagely and worrying at his hand a little harder than he had with Charm._

_Then he reared up at the man and growled as he brought his razor talons to rest on the man's shoulders heavely. The man visibly sagged with the weight of the huge hound but kept his feet._

_The man grinned at Jet's gaping maw, it looked a bit grim maybe sadistic was more appropriate. Jet grinned back and let his tongue hang out of his mouth. The large man slapped Jets barrel chest in a rough pet again almost growling himself in quiet soothing sounds._

_Jet jumped down and looked at his son. Bones ran up to his master and growling viciously began attacking the man's anckle. A deep bark from Jet stopped Bones instantly. Jet growled and stepped in between his son and the man's slightly shredded pants. He growled for a few moments then moved away again. Bones looked at his master and waged his tail. The man grinned. Bones rubbed himself against his master's leg. The man bent and patted him gently. Bones looked around to Jet. _

_Jet yawned and trotted off back to Charm to beg a petting. Growling to her, she could tell by his tones he was pleased with the large man and Bones. Charm rolled her eyes. I already knew that. You practicly invited him to lead the pack! She growled her discomfort at him. He grinned, amused and leaned against her dramaticly almost pushing her over. Lone, Jet let her know then looked at the man. Lone? You mean like a Rogue? Him? She looked at the large man again. Lost, Jet affirmed._

_"Your new to this world" Charm stated more than asked. Riddick looked at her with a look that made her heart turn to ice. She looked to Jet. More like an Alpha without a pack, she grumbled at him. He had the commanding presence and no fear to speak of. Jet growled affirmitive. When she looked up again at Lone she stiffled a scream. She never heard him move never saw him approach. He towered over her seeming to block all the light in the forest. She took a step back involuntarily. Jet moved to stand between them his scales turning red and raising into a warning stance. Lone stopped a foot from the hound, not the slightest bit intimidated by the hound._

_"What's your point." He growled and she suddenly noticed he had a wickedly curved blade in his hand, almost casualy. Her hand darted to her dagger defensivly. No question she would have lost a fight against someone she didnt even see coming, still she felt better having something to defend herself with in hand. She growled getting angry. He had no right. Solarca was a world almost entierly populated by criminals or former criminals that just wanted to be left alone. If he had learned about the world before coming here he would have found that out easily. The whole galaxy knew it. Solarca even had a special police force dedicated to keeping bounty hunters out. Leagaly of course._

_"Be careful how you train your pup. Might be best to teach Bones only to eat what you give him.." She turned her back to him contemtuously, trusting Jet to keep her safe as she headed to her skimmer._

_"Oh and one more thing" She growled and stopped at the skimmers side turning back to face him. He had the decency to tuck his knife away somewhere out of sight._

_"...He's worth a lot of money, if you breed him with the right line. You could make a nice living off of him....and...." She looked at Jet still between her and him, only pink with warning, for a fraction of a second._

_" Learn about this planet" She got into her skimmer simmering from the human contact. She kicked herself mentaly. It always happens. When ever your around humans. Something always goes wrong. She whistled a note for Jet to come. The hound ran at the pup and tumbled him one more time, then prowled past the man. Obviously leaning into his leg as he passed. He jumped into the skimmer and took up the whole back seat grinning. Knowing he was an impressive size in the back of the skimmer compared to her._

_She raced off throught the beautiful forest twoards home. Never have to see him again, she consoled herself. Never have to feel intimidated by him again, compleatly helpless. She screamed furiously into the growing dusk. _

_"Humans! I hate humans!' She felt the prickle of angry tears in her eyes. _


End file.
